The present invention relates to gaming games. Specifically, the present invention is a casino card game based on Pai Gow providing a simple ranking system and a simple bonus system.
Pai Gow is a well known gambling game which originated in China and is played with a set of thirty two tiles. Each tile includes a number of pips which indicate the rank of the tile. For reasons of tradition, the rank of the tile is not directly related to the number of pips on the tile. For example, a tile with twelve pips is the highest ranking tile; a tile with three pips is the lowest ranking tile.
A game of Pai Gow begins with the players making a wager. Tile hands are distributed to the players and each player organizes his or her tiles into a high hand and a low hand with each hand having two tiles. The low hand must have a lower ranking than the high hand according to the well known ranking of Pai Gow tiles. The dealer likewise organizes his or her tiles into high and low hands.
Wagers are resolved by comparing the rank of the player""s high hand and low hand to the dealer""s high hand and low hand, respectively. If both the player""s high and low hands outrank the dealer""s high and low hands, the player wins and is payed even money, less a five percent commission to the casino. If the dealer""s high and low hands outrank the player""s high and low hands, the dealer collects the player""s wager. If one, but not both, of the player""s hands outrank the one of the dealer""s hands, the game is a push and the wager is neither collected nor paid.
A drawback of Pai Gow is that the rankings are complicated. Thus, Pai Gow is a game that only experienced players can play quickly. To address this problem simplified games have been created, such as Pai Gow Poker, that use simpler or better known ranking systems, such as conventional poker rankings.
In Pai Gow Poker, seven cards are dealt to the banker and the players. The banker and players arrange the cards into a five-card high hand and a two-card low hand. Each player compares his or her high hand to the banker""s high hand and his or her low hand to the banker""s low hand. The player wins if both hands outrank the corresponding banker""s hands according to conventional poker rankings. If one of the player""s hands outranks one of the banker""s hands, and the other banker""s hand ties or outranks the other player hand, the player and banker xe2x80x9cpushxe2x80x9d and the player neither wins nor loses his wager. If both the banker""s hands outrank or tie the player""s hands, the player loses his or her wager.
It is also well known in the art that one feature attractive to players is a bonus. One drawback of conventional Pai Gow Poker is that there is no large bonus or jackpot available. In response, jackpot features, such as that disclosed in Franklin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,486, have been invented. Franklin discloses a game in which a player may make a separate jackpot wager. Seven cards are dealt to the player and the dealer. If the player has a predetermined poker hand in his high hand and a predetermined low hand, the player receives a jackpot payout. The hands are then resolved as in conventional Pai Gow Poker.
This bonus ranking system may still be too complicated for some players, however. It can be seen, therefore, that there is a need in the art for a card game based on Pai Gow that provides a bonus without requiring a separate jackpot wager and in which the bonus is paid based on well known five card poker hands.
A method of playing a casino card game between a banker, who may be a player or, alternatively, a dealer employed by the casino, and at least one player utilizing at least one standard deck of fifty-two cards begins with the player making a single wager. Five cards are dealt to the banker and to each player. The banker arranges the banker""s cards into a three-card hand and a two-card hand with the three-card hand outranking the two-card hand according to conventional poker rankings.
The player inspects his or her cards and, if the player has a predetermined five card poker hand, such as a straight flush, the game enters a first phase. The player exposes the player""s cards and compares the player""s hand to the banker""s hand. The player""s game terminates and the player wins a predetermined jackpot if the banker does not have a five card hand with an equal or greater poker rank than the player""s hand. Otherwise, the player""s game terminates and the player loses the player""s wager.
Conversely, if the player does not have a straight flush, the game enters a second stage in which the player arranges the player""s cards into a three-card hand and a two-card hand, with the three-card hand outranking said two-card hand according to conventional poker rankings. The player""s hands are compared to the corresponding banker""s hands. The player is rewarded by the banker if both the player""s hands outrank the corresponding banker""s hands according to conventional poker rankings. A push occurs, and the banker neither rewards nor collects the player""s wager, if one of the player""s hands outranks the corresponding banker""s hand and the remaining banker""s hand outranks or ties the remaining player""s hand according to conventional poker rankings. If each of the banker""s hands outrank or tie the player""s hands, the banker collects the player""s wager.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a card game based on Pai Gow using a simple ranking system and a simple bonus system that does not require a player to make an additional wager.